Bac, N., & Faller, R. (2024, March), Global Experience in Undergraduate Engineering  Programs at Texas Tech University  Paper presented at 2024 ASEE-GSW, Canyon, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--45382

\bibitem{asee_peer_45382}
  Bac, N., \& Faller, R. (2024, March), \emph{Global Experience in Undergraduate Engineering  Programs at Texas Tech University}
  Paper presented at 2024 ASEE-GSW, Canyon, Texas.
  10.18260/1-2--45382

Nurcan Bac and Roland Faller.  "Global Experience in Undergraduate Engineering  Programs at Texas Tech University".  2024 ASEE-GSW, Canyon, Texas, 2024, March.  ASEE Conferences, 2024.  https://peer.asee.org/45382 Internet.  15 May, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_45382}
  Nurcan Bac and Roland Faller.
  "Global Experience in Undergraduate Engineering  Programs at Texas Tech University".
  \emph{2024 ASEE-GSW, Canyon, Texas, 2024, March}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2024.
  https://peer.asee.org/45382 Internet.  15 May, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_45382
author = "Nurcan Bac and Roland Faller"
title = "Global Experience in Undergraduate Engineering  Programs at Texas Tech University"
booktitle = "2024 ASEE-GSW"
year = "2024"
month = "March"
address = "Canyon, Texas"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/45382}
number = {10.18260/1-2--45382}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Global Experience in Undergraduate Engineering  Programs at Texas Tech University

Nurcan Bac  
Edward E. Whitacre College of Engineering, Texas Tech University

Roland Faller
Edward E. Whitacre College of Engineering, Texas Tech University
 
Abstract 

All undergraduate students at TTU Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering (WCOE) are required to have global experience during their studies. Despite a pause during 2020, about 3700 of our students participated in global experience throughout the world since 2014.  This experience can be in terms of study abroad, internship, research or service abroad, and a total of 441 students joined mostly to study abroad followed by internship programs in 25 countries in  2023. Majority of students preferred to go to Europe, followed by Central America. The fact that Texas Tech has a center in Seville, Spain and a satellite campus in Costa Rica make these  two locations more favorable.

Travelling to study abroad can be stressful for some students and the college have provided a large number of exemptions for cases of health concerns and financial hardship. Some students may be  apprehensive about language barriers, cultural differences, and unfamiliar customs. However, this can in turn become an invaluable experience and  opportunity to learn about how to function in different cultures. The ability to interact with different  cultures, and traditions is considered an asset for engineers in the global workforce. Once they complete a global experience even the most hesitant students become an ambassador for study abroad programs. While study abroad is an exciting and enriching experience a drawback could be the additional cost to the students and families. To compensate part of the expenses WCOE has worked with  alumni to establish an endowment for scholarships specifically for global experience. This endowment reached $10 million this year. 142 students that went  abroad in 2023 received a total of about $318,500 in scholarships.

AU  - Nurcan Bac
AU  - Roland Faller
CY  - Canyon, Texas
DA  - 2024/03/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Global Experience in Undergraduate Engineering  Programs at Texas Tech University
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/45382
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--45382
ER  -